Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta and Pizza

by Helene Dsouza on February 21, 2014

A spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe in all it’s glory. Yes that’s what we need, don’t you think so? Lately I have been positively surprised by the amount of locals in Goa, who seemed to enjoy a plate of Italian pasta covered in tomato sauce. Actually the trend started when certain noodle companies advertised their quick cooking spicy pasta options. Of course you need to imagine those adds with an Indian celebrity swearing for the use of the product while bobbing his head. Suddenly, apparently Chinese noodle dishes were forgotten and Italian pasta style food turned into a trend.

Now I am not complaining, in fact I am quite satisfied how this turned out for me, because I get a bigger choice of pasta ingredients in my grocery aisle. You see, making pasta from scratch is not an option when I am busy or tired of the day, so I tend to buy various kind. However, I haven’t bought my own pasta sauce in ages! I always prefer making my own because I can adjust the flavors better. My husband of course agrees. His favorite sauce is this spicy tomato sauce which I tend to turn into a delicious pasta sauce or which I also use as pizza topping or sometimes I also use 1 or 2 Tablespoons of the sauce while cooking other dishes.

Italians always make their tomato sauce from scratch and they store it in clean canning jars. I was once told that every family in Italy has their own particular pasta sauce recipe. I am doing the same thing now, just that my pasta sauce is spicy and it was created for Indian’s taste preferences. This recipe is easy and a jar of homemade tomato sauce frequently comes handy. So, it’s definitely a keeper if you are looking to add some flavors into your life while making your life a bit simpler as well.

India has some of the worst tomatoes in the market ever. I am not exaggerating unfortunately and I am not the only who feels the same way. We don’t have much choice so we have to go for the one and only kind that everybody else is selling in India. You on the other hand can pick your favorite quality (and maybe organic) tomatoes if you have a good choice in your corner of the world. While making the sauce, you are free to increase or decrease the amount of chili powder and green chillies (or discard the seeds). Remember, the sauce tends to be more spicy when used as a pasta sauce but on the other hand it’s not that hot as a pizza topping. I like to eat moderately spicy food so 2 green chilli was already a bit hot for me but for an Indian the heat of 2 chillies might just be literally sweet “peanuts”.

A spicy tomato sauce recipe for pasta and pizza. Super hot and you can use it for several other food dishes such as Lasagne, meatballs or just make a tomato based chicken or fish dish!

Ingredients

1.7 kg (1700 grams) fresh ripe Tomatoes

4 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Tablespoon chopped Garlic

1 big Onion sliced

½ Tablespoon Cumin seed powder

½ Teaspoon Coriander seed powder

1 Teaspoon red Chili Powder (optional)

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Tablespoon Pepper

1-2 Green Chilli

Juice of ½ Lemon

Instructions

First Rinse your Tomatoes well to get rid of any impurities. Keep a big pot with boiling water ready. You need to peel the tomatoes and the easiest way to do this is by blanching them. That means you make a few cuts into the tomato skin and then you drop them into the boiling water for 1-3 minutes or until you can see the tomato skin detaching from the pulp. Take the tomatoes out and directly into a bowl with ice water to cool them down. Peel the tomatoes one by one, discard the skin.

Chop your skinned tomatoes roughly and keep them in a bowl for the time being.

Add the olive oil to a pan and fry your chopped garlic and onion slices until the onion turns translucent and soft. Then continue to add and stir fry the cumin, coriander and chili powders. Also add in the salt and pepper and stir fry everything for a minute.

Add to the pot on the stove all the tomato pieces with the juice, which accumulated from the tomatoes in the bowl, and the in length cut 1-2 green chilli. Cook for about 30 minutes, so that the tomato sauce reduces and stir frequently so that nothing burns on!

Once finished cooked you can either leave the sauce chunky or you blend it to a smooth paste. Bring the tomato sauce back to the heat and stir cook for 5 more minutes. Let it cool a bit and then add the lemon juice at the end.

Store in clean and sterilized jars and lids. Tip: add a few drops of lemon juice into the lids before turning them over the jars and closing.

I am Helene, the author behind Masala Herb!
My aim is to show you an incredible world full of surprises. Food, Culture and Travel are my forte and that's what I enjoy. Follow my Food and Travel adventures and learn some incredible things!
Now in the beautifull Indian coastline state, Goa.

Spicy is good! This is a really interesting tomato sauce — I love the flavors! We can get decent tomatoes only in the summer, so most of the time I use good quality canned tomatoes when I want tomato sauce. And although I make my own pasta, I also use dried pasta all the time — I don’t have an extruder, and it’s a pain making some of the tubular shapes by hand. Good quality dried pasta is every bit as good as freshly made IMO (although its flavor is different). Great recipe — thanks.John@Kitchen Riffs recently posted..Italian Celery and Mushroom Salad

Hi Helene, I can’t thank you enough. We love pasta, and making up sauces is sometimes a bit of a puzzle. Will definitely try this one out and send you feedback. PLEASE send more pasta sauce recipes, specially spicy ones. cream based, yogurt based, anything you like. again THANK YOU!

Your suggestion of using it in pizza made me think “now I really have to try it!”

I’ve never used spicy sauces on pizza before, but spicy sauces (especially with chicken) are my temptation, so why not unite both of my favourite worlds indeed? Curious about how it will turn out.Alex recently posted..Walnut Cake // Bolo de Noz

You are an amazing woman Helene, and have adapted so well to the Indian taste buds…amazing! Bookmarking this. I must confess I have never even tried making a pizza sauce, unless you consider combining five different sauces as a new sauce…..but now it’s time to rectify this. I am dying to see how my kids would react. I know hubby would love it.minnie@thelady8home recently posted..Kosha murgi – Chicken in a dry gravy

Hey Helene, I made the sauce last night. This being the Lenten season, we abstain from non veg food items, so I made a macaroni, with the spicy sauce, and some grated cheese over. It was a sellout. My family, (husband, daughter and I) loved it. It is definitely a keeper. Please send us more delicious recipes like that. Thank you!